The Billionaire Biker's Bitch 2 (3 page)

She checked the time on her cell. Dani and her boyfriend weren’t due over to help her move for another hour.
 

“Damn, I need that swim!” she muttered. Before opening the door, she lifted her arms to smell herself and rolled her eyes. Oh well, that was the price they’d have to pay for showing up early. She opened the door.

“Hey, you may want to give me a few minutes—”

Alex was leaning in the doorway, looking sexy as hell wearing tight jeans and no shirt under his leather vest. His biceps twitched as he squeezed a rolled up booklet in his clasped hands.

There was an awkward silence, and then he grinned. “Looks like we’re dressed for two very different activities.”

Claire composed herself. At first the sight of him took her breath away, and she couldn’t think of anything other than wanting to throw her arms around his neck. Then she remembered she was furious at him for allowing her to be humiliated in front of everyone.

But seeing how fabulous he looked, she couldn’t help but be dismayed knowing that not only did she smell like dog, she probably looked like road-kill with her hair plastered back and sweaty face and body.

“Alex, what are you doing here?” she managed to blurt out.

“Can I come in?” He looked into the apartment behind her and raised an eyebrow. “Moving?”

“Yes. To both questions.” Claire moved aside. “You may want to stay where you are, though. There’s no air conditioning in here.”

“Is that why you’re moving?”

“No, my lease is up.”

He stepped inside. “I like it hot,” he said.

She shrugged. “Have it your way.”
 

She quickly slid two boxes off her couch and motioned for him to sit down. “All I’ve got here is water. Want some?”

“Sure.”

Claire got two cold water bottles from the refrigerator. She put one to her face and handed him the other. She stood opposite him, waiting for him to speak, but he took a long, slow swig of water, his eyes pinned on her.

“Listen, Alex. About last week—”

“Are you engaged?”

“What? No! In no way did I encourage that scenario. It was a complete surprise that got out of hand when everyone mistook it for some social media event in the making.”

Claire noticed Alex continued to roll the booklet or whatever he had in his hands tightly between his palms.

“Why don’t you sit down?” he said, and patted the couch next to him.

“I was on my way to the pool.”
 

He stared at her without answering, so Claire plopped down on the floor across from him and put her water bottle on the coffee table. “I don’t have much time. My friends will be here soon to help me move, and I need to shower or swim before they get here.”

Alex didn’t blink. He tapped the rolled up booklet in his right hand in the palm of his left, looking thoughtful.
 

“I’d like to discuss some changes to company policy we’re making with you.”

Claire almost spit her mouthful of water out, but managed to swallow instead. “With me, a fired employee?”

Alex leaned back against the couch pillows. “Yes. No one was happy about your dismissal. Your former manager and the sales staff drafted an objection letter. It seems in only one week, you handled the varied duties and responsibilities of running the front end of the showroom better than any of your predecessors.”

Claire nodded, but kept her face non-committal. It was nice that her former co-workers liked her so much, but they weren’t the decision makers, or the one person whose opinion mattered to her.

“Good, then I know who to contact about getting referrals. So far, I’ve had to be creative with my response to the ‘Why did you leave your last job?’ question at interviews and on job applications.”

“And have you found another job?”

Claire leaned forward and put her arms, folded, on the table. “No. And I have to finish up here so I can move and be ready to continue my job hunt next week. I hate to be rude, but you came unannounced and—”

“I’ve come to offer you your job back. With a raise. And waive the time-delay to receive benefits.”

Claire stared at Alex without answering for several moments while thoughts raced through her mind. Was he here strictly for business? An in-person job offer from the CEO was hardly a usual occurrence. What was his real objective?

“So, since I’m no longer in violation of Rule Number 5, I can work there?”

Alex handed her the booklet. The edges curled up from the mangling it suffered in his large hands, but Claire could read the lettering on the front. HARRIMAN MOTORS EMPLOYEE MANUAL: REVISED.

He flipped the booklet open to a bookmarked page. “I’ll make it easy for you to find the changes,” Alex said. “The provision for Rule Number 5 has changed. The former rule has been eliminated. There is one less rule in the rule book. See for yourself.”

The doorbell rang, and someone knocked loudly at the same time.

“That must be my friends,” Claire said, and stood up.

She closed the book without looking at it. “I’ll consider your offer. Thank you for coming here to deliver the news in person. Who should I call with my decision?”

The doorbell rang again, and the knocking got louder. Claire took a few steps and opened the door.

“Hey, Claire. It’s a small apartment. What took so long?” Dani said, as she blew into the room. She stopped abruptly at the sight of Alex.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”

“Dani, this is Alex.” Claire turned to Alex and motioned to her friends. “This is Dani and Matt.”

Alex nodded and stood up to shake hands with Matt.
 

“Alex was just leaving,” Claire continued.

“Nice to meet you,” Alex said to Dani as he headed out of the apartment. He turned before closing the door and looked directly at Matt. “Do you need some help moving this stuff out?”

Claire stepped forward and started to close the door. “No, that won’t be necessary.”

Alex didn’t budge from the doorway. He looked at Claire for several seconds before speaking. Claire thought she saw a look of regret in his eyes, but he covered it quickly with his corporate face.
 

“You can contact me directly with your decision, Claire. Good luck with your move.” He turned quickly before she could answer, and she closed the door softly behind him.

Matt was scowling when she turned around. “Why did you shut him out like that? He’s a big dude. We could’ve used his help!”

Dani pushed him. “Don’t be an idiot! That’s her old boss, the one…you know.”

Matt shrugged and looked around. “Whatever. Let’s get started.”

Claire took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She forced a smile and pointed to the pile of boxes in the corner. “I guess we should start there.”
 

She walked to the coffee table and stuffed the revised employee manual into the bag she had packed with her towel before Alex arrived. It looked like she wouldn’t need either for a while.

Although he was in at his usual six o’clock, Alex cancelled his Monday morning sales meeting. No point in having it without being mentally present for the third week in a row. His staff would notice, and his credibility would suffer. His success was the direct result of being a focused leader, and he didn’t give a shit about business right now.
 

He had one thing on his mind, and had since the Friday night at Charli’s when he spotted the blonde he passed earlier on the causeway dancing with her friends. Besides a fresh face and a sculpted body, she had something about her that called to him.

He knew as soon as he saw her dancing. Her friends were all looking around the room to see who was watching them. Not Claire. She danced for herself, no one else. In their short time together, his observation had been confirmed. She knew what she wanted, and wasn’t concerned that others didn’t share her vision.
 

He knew she was drawn to him, too. But she chose herself over him, and he wouldn’t want it any other way. Although it was driving him crazy, he admired that she’d rather keep a job that moved her closer to her goals than continue a relationship with him. The fact that he could keep her in style while she pursued her writing didn’t seem to cross her mind as being a consideration. He’d never before met a woman, or a man, who didn’t want something from him.

His eyes returned to his monitor, and he read the short email exchange he had with Claire on Saturday for what seemed like the millionth time.

“Dear Mr. Harriman, Thank you for your recent offer of employment. You mentioned a salary increase in addition to immediate availability of benefits. I’ve found the benefit package description in the employee manual you left. That is more than satisfactory. However, I’d like to know the new salary amount so I can compare it to other jobs offers I’ve received. Best regards, Claire Davenport.”

“Dear Claire, We’ll pay you twenty percent more than the best offer you’ve received. Name your salary. Simply inform Human Resources of your requirements upon your return. —Alex.”

“Dear Mr. Harriman, Those terms are acceptable. Whom should I see at Human Resources? Best regards, Claire Davenport.”

“There have been some additional changes at the company since your departure. Anna Brigham is no longer with the company. Please let me know your desired start date, and I’ll inform Andrew Martin, our new HR director, to expect you. —Alex.”

“Thank you. I can start immediately. Best, Claire Davenport.”

“Claire, I’ve emailed Andrew to expect you in his office at eight-thirty on Monday morning. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, I look forward to beginning work at Harriman Motors once again. Thank you, Claire Davenport.”

Alex had delayed responding to her last email. He wanted to add a personal reply, but hesitated. He interpreted her formality as a signal that she was ready to come back to work, but wanted to maintain a professional distance from him. After writing and deleting several draft responses, he emailed her one last time.

“Everyone at Harriman Motors is delighted to have you back. Fondly, Alex.”

Alex resisted the urge to call and see if Claire was at her desk. But he was still unable to get anything done or concentrate on work. After leaving her apartment on Friday night, he’d tried to drown out thoughts of her by cruising with his friends on the ninjas. That didn’t take his mind off her, because he was on the damn bike the first time he laid eyes on her. Saturday on his Cigarette boat didn’t help either, because all he could think about was their last date in the Keys on his friend’s yacht. Sunday he tried to distract himself by bringing his Audi R8 to the track, but even traveling at over 180 miles per hour only kept his mind occupied while he was on the course. Once he was heading home on I-95, Claire plagued his thoughts once more.

There was one last escape tactic. Alex strode out of his office, waving off his secretary when she tried to deliver a handful of messages. He bounded down the stairs, avoiding the elevator where he might have to converse with someone, and headed directly into the employee gym.

In less than five minutes he had changed and was doing warm-up laps on the track. Running let him block out everything except the lane in front of him. As he increased his speed, his concentration shifted to focus on his breathing and nothing else. He ran two more laps than usual and finished up with pushups, subjecting his body to intense strain.
 

As he knew would happen, the answer emerged once he stopped thinking about it. Something was missing for Claire. Getting her job back on her terms was good, but where did he fit in? He sensed she felt betrayed because he had left her to take the heat that day in the showroom.

Alex showered and returned to work with a clear mind. He knew exactly what he had to do. And he was ready to lay the groundwork.

Claire’s heart skipped a beat when the phone on the reception desk buzzed, indicating a call was coming in from someone within the dealership. It was Friday afternoon, and she half-expected Alex to contact her. He’d been showing up at her desk every day, on one pretext or another. Maybe this was him.
 

She pushed the blinking light on her phone. “Reception,” she said with as sexy a voice as she could muster and still sound professional—in case it was someone else.

“Hey, Claire.”
 

Claire recognized the voice of Angela, the rookie sales rep, and tried to hide her disappointment. She knew Angie could see her through the glass pane of her office. “Hey, Angie,” she said, and swiveled in her chair for a brief wave. “What’s up?”

“Oh nothing, unfortunately. But a few of us are going to the club up the street for a quick drink or two after work.” She giggled. “Maybe we can stir up some fun.”

Claire made a sad face. “Thanks, but I’m meeting up with some of my friends. Maybe next week?”

Angie gave her a thumbs up. “Sure,” she said into the phone and clicked off.

Claire kept the phone to her face, trying to look like she was on another call until Ashley got distracted with something on her desk.
 

She wanted desperately to have some fun again. The last few weeks had been so stressful. She deserved a night out after working extra hours and still making all her classes and getting her assignments done. But it would be too hard to loosen up around co-workers. What if after a few drinks they’d start to ask for details of her dismissal and return?
 

Claire pulled her cell phone from her purse. She couldn’t sit there all afternoon, hoping Alex would call. Besides, if she had plans, she could legitimately turn him down. Why should she be available if he waited for the last minute?

Clicking on Dani’s name, she texted. “Hey, what are you all doing tonight?”

“The usual. We’re meeting early at Charli’s, and then probably work our way up Ocean Drive.”

Claire hesitated. She didn’t want to booze and cruise her way through Miami Beach’s Friday night bar scene, but it would be better than sitting at home feeling sorry for herself.

“Sounds good,” she typed back. “I need to go home to shower and change after work. I’ll meet you there.”